Multi-layer handheld electronic device

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a housing for a portable handheld electronic device such as a cellphone. The device has a housing, having a left side and right side. The housing can be layered, such as in a sandwich configuration. The layers can be secured together via one or more fasteners that extend through at least front and rear plates of the housing.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 14/247,160 filed Apr. 7, 2014, which claims the prioritybenefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application No.61/947,889, filed Mar. 4, 2014. This application also claims priority toU.S. Provisional Application No. 62/034,446, filed Aug. 7, 2014. Theentireties of each of the foregoing applications are hereby incorporatedby reference herein.

BACKGROUND

The capability of handheld electronic devices continues to advance. Forinstance, cellphones have increased in capability and have now evolvedinto so-called smartphones. These mobile phones are built on a mobilecomputing platform, with more advanced computing ability andconnectivity than a typical cellular phone. The first smartphones weredevices that mainly combined the functions of a personal digitalassistant (PDA) and a mobile phone or camera. Modern models of mobilephones and other handheld electronic devices incorporate the functionsof portable media players, digital still and motion video cameras, GPSnavigation units and additional electronic capabilities.

Today's smartphones typically also include high-resolution touchscreens,web browsers that can access and properly display standard web pages,and high-speed data access via Wi-Fi and mobile broadband links.Application programming interfaces (APIs) on smartphones allowthird-party applications to better integrate with the phone's operatingsystem and hardware, while cellphones more commonly run on proprietaryfirmware. A variety of operating systems power conventional smartphones,including Android™, iOS™ and Windows® Phone (Android™ is a trademark ofGoogle Inc., iOS™ is a trademark of Cisco Systems used under license byApple Inc., and Windows® is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation). Theconfluence of consumer electronic devices and capabilities continues.Such capabilities can also be found on tablets and other handhelddevices not equipped with phone capability.

Despite the significant advances in hand held electronic devices, thephysical form of these devices has seen little evolution. Most areshaped like a more or less smooth brick with increasingly smooth front,back and side surfaces. This configuration can easily slip from the handof the user, and risk damaging the phone with potential loss of valuabledata as well as hardware. Some aftermarket removable covers have beenproposed, but such covers add bulk and weight and otherwise fail toprovide an elegant solution.

SUMMARY

Some of the inventions disclosed herein provide a housing for a handheldmobile electronic device such as a cellphone, having a modified surfacewith ridges or contours to enhance traction and resist slipping of thehousing in a user's hand.

In accordance with one aspect of at least one of inventions disclosedherein, there is provided a handheld electronic device such as acellphone having enhanced grip surface structures. The electronic deviceincludes a body, having a left side, a right side, a front surface witha display and a rear surface. At least one of the right side and leftside is provided with enhanced gripped surface structures comprising atleast two laterally projecting extensions defining a concavitytherebetween.

Enhanced grip surface structures may be provided on both the left sideand right side of the body. At least two concavities may be provided oneach of the left side and right side of the body. In someimplementations, the projections are integrally attached to theelectronic device body. A first number of concavities may be provided onthe left side, and a second, different number of concavities may beprovided on the right side.

At least one concavity has a depth of at least about 2 mm and/or a widthof at least about 0.5 inches.

In some implementations, at least one concavity defines an inwardlyextending contour on the rear surface but not on the front surface.Further, in some implementations, the inwardly extending contour extendson the rear surface and on one of the right and left sides, but not onthe front surface.

There is provided in accordance with another aspect of at least one ofthe inventions disclosed herein, a method of manufacturing a handheldelectronic device housing, such as a cellphone housing or digital camerahousing. The method comprises the steps of manufacturing a housinghaving a left side, a right side, and front facing and rear facingsurfaces. At least one of the left side and right side include at leasttwo laterally extending projections defining a concavity therebetween,such that the at least two laterally extending projections defining theconcavity therebetween remain exposed on the lateral sides of theelectronic device following final assembly of the electronic device toprovide an electronic device with enhanced grip surface structures.

The enhanced grip surface structures may be provided on both the leftside and the right side of the body, and may comprise at least twoconcavities on each of the left side and right side of the body.

The projections may be manufactured by a machining process, a moldingprocess, or by stamping, coining, bending, or other deformation process.The projections can be formed by depressing at least two regions of asurface to leave a projection therebetween. Alternatively, theprojections may be provided as a separate component, and mounted on thehousing.

The manufacturing method can include providing a first number ofconcavities on the left side, and a second, different number ofconcavities on the right side.

The method can include forming the concavity to have a depth of at leastabout 2 mm and/or forming the concavity to have a width at least about0.5 inches.

Another aspect of a least one of the inventions disclosed hereinincludes the realization that power requirements for photographiclighting has dropped sufficiently in recent years, due in part to thewidespread availability of small and low-power LED lights, that betterlighting solutions can be applied to personal electronic devices, suchas smartphones or cellphones. For example, those in the art ofrecognized that the low-power photographic lighting solutions, commonlyreferred to as a “camera flash”, typically included on smartphones andcell phones, do not provide photographically optimal lighting for allphotographic applications. For example, the typical, single point oflight type flash device on presently available cellphones and otherhandheld electronic devices can create high contrast shadows with sharpedges that can be undesireable for some applications.

Thus, in accordance with some embodiments, a handheld mobile electronicdevice such as a cellphone can include a photographic lighting device,integrated there with, wherein the photographic lighting device includesat least a plurality of light sources relative to a camera lens of thecell phone or other device. For example, in some embodiments, thelighting device can extend around a periphery of the camera lens.Optionally, in some embodiments, the lighting device can extend aroundthe periphery of another portion of the handheld electronic device,adjacent to the camera lens. The lighting device can be powered directlyby the power source used for powering the handheld electronic device. Assuch, the cell phone can benefit from enhanced photographic lightingwithout the need for additional power supplies for powering the lights.

In accordance with another aspect of at least one of the inventionsdisclosed herein there is provided a handheld electronic device withenhanced photographic lighting. The electronic device includes a bodyhaving at least one outer surface. The electronic device includes alighting device, which in some implementations comprises at least aplurality of light emitting devices spaced from the camera lens andspaced from each other.

The lighting device in some embodiments extends around a periphery ofthe camera lens. In some embodiments, the lighting device extends arounda periphery of the body.

In accordance with yet another aspect of at least one of inventionsdisclosed herein, a handheld electronic device such as a cellphone withenhanced grip surface structures is provided. The electronic deviceincludes a body having a left side, a right side, a top, a bottom, afront surface with a display and a rear surface. The right side and leftside are provided with enhanced grip surface structures which cancomprise at least two extensions projecting to the left and at least twoextensions projecting to the right defining a left facing concavity anda right facing concavity. The concavities can have a best fit radius ofcurvature within the range of from about 1.0 to about 2.0 inches, andcan positioned within the top half of the body.

At least two concavities can be included on each of the left and rightsides, which can be symmetrically spaced along the length of the body.The projections are integral parts of the body in some implementations.Smooth outer side walls can be included along the bottom half of thebody.

In various implementations the concavities have a depth of at leastabout 0.0625 inches and/or a width at least about 1.0 inches.

Depending on the embodiment, any of the handheld electronic devicesdescribed above, and more generally speaking, any of the devicesdescribed throughout the disclosure, can be a cellphone, or can insteadbe a different type of handheld electronic device such as a tablet ordigital camera. For instance, depending on the embodiment the handheldelectronic device may include any combination of one or more of thefollowing, without limitation: a digital camera capable of still and/ormotion photography, telephone capability (e.g., microphone, speaker, andappropriate hardware and software), a viewing screen, a user interfacesuch as a touch screen that can also be the viewing screen, wirelesscapability (e.g., a wireless local area network [WLAN] interface), andweb browsing capability.

Further features and advantages of the present inventions will becomeapparent from the detailed description of preferred embodiments whichfollows when considered together the attached drawings and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a hand-held cellphone inaccordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged schematic view of a right edge of the cellphone ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged schematic view of a single concavity of acellphone housing in accordance with embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of a handheld cellphone as in FIG. 1,reconfigured with bilateral asymmetry for right hand operation.

FIG. 5 is a front elevational view as in FIG. 4, with electroniccontrols positioned in selected concavities.

FIG. 6 is a front elevational view of an alternate handheld cellphone inaccordance with embodiments having gripping surfaces with smallcontours.

FIGS. 7A-7H are schematic views of alternate housing profiles inaccordance with embodiments.

FIG. 7I is an exploded side schematic view of an example of amulti-plate electronic device.

FIG. 8A is a perspective exploded view of examples of an opticalcomponent support that can be incorporated into a handheld electronicdevice according to certain embodiments.

FIG. 8B is a perspective exploded view of examples of an opticalcomponent support that can be incorporated into a handheld electronicdevice according to certain embodiments.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating various electronic aspects andfeatures of a device in accordance with embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a hand-held electronic devicesuch as a cellphone 10. Although described herein primarily in thecontext of a cellphone, the inventions herein are applicable to any of avariety of handheld electronic devices with or without cellphonefunctionality, including digital still and motion cameras, personalnavigation devices, mobile internet devices, handheld game consoles, ordevices having any or a combination of the functions discussed inconnection with FIG. 9, below.

The cellphone or other handheld electronic device can include a housing12, having a top edge 14 and a bottom edge 16. Viewing the phone in itsnormal use orientation, cellphone 10 includes a left side 18, a rightside 20 and a display 22. Display 22 displays a variety of applications,functions and information as is understood in the art. Display 22 mayalso incorporate touch screen control features as is understood in theart.

Dimensions of the housing 12 can vary considerably, depending upon themanufacturer and functionality of the phone. For example, the HTC smartphone is approximately 104 mm high by 55 mm wide by 12.8 mm thick. TheSamsung Galaxy S5 is about 142 mm in height, 72.5 mm wide and 8.1 mmthick. The LG G2 is about 138.5 mm high, by 70.9 mm wide by 8.9 mmthick. The Apple iPhone S5 is approximately 123.8 mm high by 58.6 mmwide by 7.6 mm thick. Cell phones and handheld other electronic devicesincorporating any of the inventions disclosed herein may fall within therange of the minimum to maximum recited above, or above or below thatrange, as desired. In all of the foregoing commercial products, the leftside 18 and right side 20 are essentially perfectly linear. In contrast,at least one of the left side 18 and right side 20 of the cellphone orother electronic device in accordance with an aspect of at least one ofthe inventions disclosed herein are provided with regular, undulatingcontoured surfaces to facilitate grip.

The contoured surfaces or edges can comprise interference fit orfriction enhancing surface structures or configurations to facilitategripping the device with reduced chance of slipping and dropping. Theycan be provided in a variety of forms including some discussed below. Ingeneral, the surface structures are preferably permanently attached tothe cell phone housing, as distinct from removable cell phone protectivecases such as are available in the aftermarket. The enhanced grippingsurface can be integrally formed with the housing, such as by machining,injection molding or other operations. The surface may alternatively beapplied at the point of manufacture or assembly, such as by overmolding,adhesively bonding or attaching by any of a variety of techniques suchas with screws or other fasteners, or by soldering, welding, brazing,press fit interference interlocking structures or other attachmenttechnique known in the art. The enhanced gripping surface is preferablynot removable by the user in the course of ordinary intended use, andremoval by the consumer would require destructive acts or would void thewarranty of the device. The contoured surfaces are thus, in someembodiments, preferably a part of the native housing of the cell phoneor other hand held electronic device.

The terms concavity and projection as used herein are convenience termsto refer to deviations from planar in a lateral direction such that alaterally outwardly facing concavity is defined between two projectionsextending laterally in the same direction to define the sides of theconcavity. The terms concavity and projection are thus used in arelative spatial sense and do not convey the manner in which they wereformed unless otherwise specified. In general, a projection to the rightmay be formed by adding material to the native right side surface of asubstrate, or by removing material from the native right side surface ofthe substrate on either side of a region which has now become aprojection, or by indenting a left side of a substrate to form acorresponding right facing projection, or by bending a substrate such asinto a zigzag configuration to produce a plurality of laterally facingprojections and concavities.

The laterally extending structures may thus be projections in aconventional sense formed such as by the addition or attachment ofprojections to a starting surface to build it out, but also include twonative portions of a starting component between which a recess orindentation has been formed thereby resulting in the native surfaceforming a relative projection as a result of the recesses on eitherside. Thus any of a variety of manufacturing techniques may be utilizedto provide the projections and recesses of the non-smooth lateral sidesof the cell phone body in accordance with one or more aspects of theinventions disclosed herein, depending upon the materials and desiredmanufacturing techniques. The projections may be formed by injectionmolding or other molding techniques, particularly in the case of apolymeric housing. Projections may be formed by stamping, coining, orother compression or bending steps to provide an impression on a firstside of a substrate and a corresponding projection on the opposing sideof the substrate. The substrate in this instance may be in the form of astrip (e.g., stainless steel, titanium, aluminum or other metal) ofmaterial that will subsequently be attached to a frame to form thelateral surfaces of the housing. Projections may alternatively be formedby attachment of a separate component to a substrate, such as byadhesively bonding, soldering, brazing, welding or other bondingtechnique, or by mechanical interfit such as interference fit structuresor through the use of fasteners such as screws, rivets or press fitconstructs. Projections (and the corresponding intervening concavities)may alternatively be formed by removal of material from a substrate toform the concavity such as by grinding, milling, EDM, laser etching orother machining or removal technique as will be understood by those ofskill in the art in view of the disclosure herein.

Referring to FIG. 2, there is illustrated a schematic enlargement of theright side 20 of the housing 12. The left side may or may not be amirror image of the right side. Right side 20 is provided with acontoured wall 24 having at least one concavity 26 positioned between afirst projection 28 and a second projection 30. At least one concavity26, and generally at least about 2, 3, 4, 5 or more may be provided onright side 20. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, four concavities26 are illustrated.

Additional details of a single concavity 26 may be seen in connectionwith FIG. 3. An outer boundary 32 is an imaginary line which contactsthe apex of each of first projection 28 and second projection 30. In anembodiment where the projections comprise curved surfaces, the outerboundary 32 would describe a tangent with respect to the firstprojection 28 and second projection 30. The width 34 of the concavity 26may be measured between the tangent contact point 38 and 40 in theimplementation illustrated in FIG. 3. In an embodiment in which theprojection has a flat surface, such as that illustrated in FIG. 1, thewidth 34 of the concavity will be measured between the points at whichthe wall of the concavity fall away from the outer boundary 32 in thedirection of the center of the concavity.

The concavity may also be considered to have a depth 42, measuredbetween the outer boundary 32 and the deepest point in the concavity 26.

The width 34 of the concavity will generally be at least about 2%, oftenat least about 4% or 6% and in some embodiments as much as 10% or moreof the overall height of the housing 12 measured along the direction ofouter boundary line 32. In some implementations, the width 34 may be atleast about 30%, and in some implementations, at least about 50% of theheight of the housing 12, depending upon the desired performance. Ingeneral, the width 34 of each concavity 26 will be at least about 0.25inches, and often at least about 0.5 inches.

The depth 42 of the concavity 26, measured at its deepest point, willtypically be in excess of about 1 mm, and often at least about 2 mm or 3mm or more. In some embodiments, the depth 42 will be about 4 or 5 mm,or more.

The housing illustrated in FIG. 1 exhibits bilateral symmetry. However,asymmetrical configurations may be desirable as described below.Referring to FIG. 4, there is illustrated a cellphone housing as in FIG.1 with a left side 18 and a right side 20. However, the left and rightsides exhibit bilateral asymmetry by having fewer concavities 26 on theright side than are present on the left side 18. Mirror images of any ofthe asymmetrical configurations disclosed herein are also contemplated.

In the illustrated embodiment, a single right side concavity 26 isdefined between a first projection 28 and a second projection 30. Thesingle concavity 26 has a width 34 of at least about 30%, and in someimplementations at least about 50%, at least about 75% or 85% or more ofthe overall height of the phone. This configuration might be consideredto be a phone optimized for right hand operation. As is understood inthe art, the anatomy of the hand includes a large rounded mound at thebase of the thumb, known as the thenar eminence. This is the result of agrouping of muscles dominated by the abductor pollicis bruvis. Providinga concavity 26 having a width of at least about 1 inch, and in someembodiments at least about 1½ inches or 2 inches or 2½ inches or more,provides a cradle for the thenar eminence whereas the multiple distinctconcavities 26 on the left side 18 of the housing provide individualcradles for individual fingers. Although the concavity 26 is illustratedin FIG. 4 as bilaterally symmetrical about the mid-point of the heightof the phone housing, the mid-point of the concavity 26 may be offset inan inferior direction, closer to the bottom edge 16 than the top edge14. In this manner, the housing for the cellphone may more closelyconform to the hand of the user, and the form factor of cellphones inaccordance with one or more aspects of at least one of the inventionsdisclosed herein may take the form of a contoured grip that may besecurely grasped by the user.

Referring to FIG. 5, it will be appreciated that embodiments of theconcavities of the cellphone housing can provide a predictable landingpoint for each of the fingers when a user is grasping the cellphone.Thus, finger buttons to control various functions of the phone or otherdevice may be located within one or more of the concavities 26. Buttonsor other controls may be provided with an activation force thresholdthat is high enough that the cellphone may be grasped by the user undernormal use conditions without activating the button. However, uponapplication of a greater compressive force than normally utilized tograsp the phone, the user can selectively activate the buttons asdesired, to control various functions of the telephone.

Thus, referring to FIG. 5, a first concavity 26 may be provided with auser activated control such as a button 50, for activation by the indexfinger. In this instance, the illustrated cellphone is configured foroperation by the user's right hand. A second concavity 26 may beprovided with a second control 52 for activation by the user's middlefinger. Additional buttons (not illustrated) may be provided for theuser's ring finger, and baby finger.

In addition, a concavity 26 on the right side of the phone may beprovided with a button or other control 54 for activation by the user'sthumb. The thumb control 54 may be positioned within a concavity 26defined between a first projection 28 and a second projection 30 thatare less than about 2 inches, and preferable less than about 1 inchapart. A larger concavity 26 is provided as previously described toprovide a cradle for the thenar eminence.

Embodiments of the concavities 26 of relatively short width may begin toappear to have a corrugated or ridged surface, such as illustrated inFIG. 6. In this implementation, there may be at least about 5, at leastabout 10, and in some implementations at least about 15 or moreconcavities 26 per running inch of width along the side walls of thephone. An additional example of housing profile is illustrated in FIG.7A, showing a plurality of concavities having substantially constantradius of curvature.

Referring to FIGS. 7A and 7C, there is illustrated a hand held devicesuch as a cellular phone having a top edge 14, a bottom edge 16, a leftside 18 and a right side 20. Each of the left side 18 and right side 20are provided with a plurality of substantially uniform concavities orundulations, as are discussed in greater detail elsewhere herein. Theillustrated embodiment exhibits bilateral symmetry, with a first leftprojection 62 disposed opposite a first right projection 60. Together,projection 62 and projection 60 define an opposing projection pair,oriented on a line which is transverse to the longitudinal axis of thephone. Preferably, the first projection pair is located on the top halfof the phone, and generally will be within the top ⅓ or top 25% of theoverall height of the phone. If no additional projections are provided,the resulting concavity below the projection will be “open ended” on thebottom.

A second right projection 64 may be provided, opposite a second leftprojection 66. Together, right projections 60 and 64 define the limitsof a concavity 26 extending therebetween. Second right projection 64 andsecond left projection 66 together form a second projection pair, whichin turn define a left and right concavity 26 positioned within the tophalf or top third of the phone. The apexes of second right projection 64and second left projection 66 may define a line which is transverse tothe longitudinal axis of the phone, and which may cross the longitudinalaxis of the phone at a point within the range of from about ±30%, insome embodiments within the range of from about ±15%, and, in someembodiments within about ±5% of the overall length of the phone from thelongitudinal midpoint of the phone.

In the illustrated embodiment, a third right projection 68 is disposedopposite a third left projection 70, to define a second pair ofconcavities 26. A fourth right and fourth left projection, and a fifthright and fifth left projection may be provided depending upon thedesired functionality of the phone.

In the illustrated embodiment, the projection pairs are spacedsymmetrically about the longitudinal centerline of the phone. In anembodiment having a longitudinal length of about 6.25 inches, the secondright projection 64 and second left projection 66 lie on a line whichcrosses the midpoint of the phone at approximately 3.125 inches from thetop edge 14 or lower edge 16. In this embodiment, each concavity 26 hasa substantially constant radius of curvature, which is generally withinthe range of from about 0.5 inches to about 2.5 inches, often within therange of about 1.0 inches to about 2.0 inches, and, in oneimplementation, the radius is within the range of from about 1.3 inchesto about 1.8 inches. The curvature of the surface within each concavity26 may be substantially constant, such that the surface curve conformssubstantially to a portion of a surface of a circle. Alternatively, thecurvature of the concavity 26 may be noncircular, such as a surfacewhich conforms to a portion of a surface of an ellipse or toroid. Asused herein, radius refers to the radius of a constant radius curve, aswell as the radius of a constant radius curve which has the best fitwith the non-constant radius curvature of the concavity 26.

The arc length measured along the surface of the curve of concavity 26from the apex of adjacent projections will generally be within the rangeof from about 0.5 inches to about 2.5 inches, often between about 1.0inches and 2.0 inches, or within about 1.2 inches and about 1.8 inches.

A line 72 illustrates the width of the phone at the upper edge 14 andlower edge 16, measured in parallel to the longitudinal axis of thephone. Line 72 in the illustrated embodiment is a side of the best fitrectangle that encompasses the phone excluding the projections. Line 74illustrates the outer most width boundary of the phone, drawn along atangent from apex to apex of adjacent projections. Concavities 26 maythus represent an area of material which has been removed from the wallof the phone relative to the area of the best fit rectangle surroundingthe perimeter of the phone.

The linear distance between reference line 72 and reference line 74 isgenerally at least about 0.050 inches, often at least about 0.0625inches, and preferably at least about 0.125 inches.

The concavities 26 illustrated in FIG. 7B, or any of the alternativeconcavities disclosed herein may be spaced apart along the entire lengthof the phone. Alternatively, concavities may be constrained to withinonly the top 50%, alternative the top 35%, in some implementations thetop 25% of the length of the phone. In some embodiments, the left andright projection may be positioned within about 25%, or within about 15%or 10% or less of the length of the phone, within the top edge of thephone. A second pair of left and right projections may be providedwithin a similar distance from the bottom edge of the phone.Alternatively, the second set of projections may be omitted.

A first plurality of screws or other fasteners 76 may be provided forconnecting front and back plates of the phone together. At least 2 andpreferably at least 4 or 6 fasteners 76 may conveniently be positionedalong the right and left sides 20 and 18 within the projections, thusenabling the fasteners 76 to be carried “off board” so that the width ofthe viewing surface of the phone may be maximized relative to theoverall mass of the phone.

A second set of fasteners 78 may be provided, with two fasteners locatedabove the viewing screen and two fasteners located below the viewingscreen. As such, they may be radially inset towards the midline of thephone without compromising the viewing screen. An upper left speaker 80and upper right speaker 82 may be provided above the viewing screen, aswell as a camera lens 84. A lower left speaker 83 and a lower rightspeaker 86 may be provided, as well as at least one microphone may bepositioned on the phone, such as below the viewing screen.

Referring to FIG. 7D, there is illustrated a perspective view of theembodiment shown in FIG. 7B. In the illustrated embodiment, a frontplate 90 and a rear plate 92 are spaced apart by an intermediate frame94 in a sandwich configuration, to enclose the electronics of the phoneor other electronic device. A plurality of fasteners 76, 78 secure thefront plate 90 and rear plate 92 together, to provide an enclosedelectronics chamber.

Although the layered handheld electronic device housing is illustratedas including three layers 90, 92, 94, four or five or more layers may beincluded as desired. In addition, a gasket layer or adhesive layer maybe included in between the front plate 90 and intermediate frame as wellas or alternatively between the intermediate frame and the rear plate94.

The sandwich configuration of the housing along with exposed screwsenables a variety of advantages. For example, screws extending between afront plate and rear plate, whether exposed or not, enable positivecompression in the front to back direction. This may be accomplishedusing any of a variety of fasteners, such as screws, rivets, or othercompression fasteners. This enables tight compression such as forwaterproofing or other seal against environmental elements.

In addition, exposed fasteners 76, 78 such as conventional bolts orscrews enables removal and replacement of either the front plate, rearplate, or any intermediate frame. For example, if a conventionalcellphone or other handheld device including a display screen isdropped, e.g., such that the front window shatters, the entire device isnormally discarded and replaced. In accordance with certain embodimentsdescribed herein, replacement component parts may be provided. Thus, ashattered front viewing window may simply be removed and replacedwithout discarding the device, or via straightforward replacement withthe fasteners 76, 78. For instance, a new front plate may include adisplay screen. An end-user may be able to install a new front plate,for example, without needing to resort to a specialist to perform theinstall.

Front, rear or intermediate plates or frames may additionally be removedand replaced, post assembly, or assembled at the point of manufacture invarious combinations for aesthetic or functional reasons. Any of theseplates may be provided in an array of different colors, textures, ormaterials, such that the purchaser of the phone or other electronicdevice can purchase phones having alternative component combinations andhave the device made with or make post manufacturing upgrades or othersubstitutions with the detachable component phone housing.

In addition, improved methods of manufacturing and inventory managementare provided according to other embodiments. An array of interchangeableplates may be maintained in inventory, and assembled to the electroniccomponent in accordance with consumer demand. Thus, electroniccomponents would not be idled because they are contained within ahousing that may be less commercially desired than other housings.

The front to back fasteners such as a screw additionally enables a morerobust attachment and construction for the phone. This attachmenttechnique can support thicker and/or stronger front and/or back plates.This may be desirable, if, for example, the rear plate will be calledupon to support other external attachments. External attachments couldinclude a mounting arm or mounting base, for use in an environment wherethe phone is desirably supported from a tabletop of other structure. Inan alternate embodiment, the rear plate may be called upon to support alens mount, such as for connection to any of a variety of varying sizeexternal lenses.

The detachable component aspect additionally facilitates the exchange ofoptions, depending upon buyer preference. For example, a standard rearplate may be removed and replaced by a rear plate which contains orencloses an enlarged battery for extended use. A rear plateincorporating or enclosing an expanded memory capacity may also bedesirable for some users, particularly for users who may generate largevolumes of data such as by video recording.

In one implementation of the inventions disclosed herein, one fastenersuch as a screw may be omitted or a separate aperture formed leaving anaperture from the front face to the rear face of the phone or through aprojection of any of the layers. This may be accomplished, for example,in an upper right or upper left corner aperture, or other around theperiphery of the phone. Due to the compression generated by theremaining fasteners, and the robust nature of the front plate and rearplate, this may be accomplished without compromising the integrity ofthe phone. The available aperture may then be utilized to secure abungee or other tether, as a safety device for phones that will becarried by a buyer into active environments where the phone may becomeseparated from its case, or otherwise released in a manner that it maybecome lost or damaged. Bungees may be provided having a first endattached to the phone and a second end with an attachment structure suchas a clip which may be attached to a button, belt loop, other portion ofa wearer's clothing or an available structure depending upon theintended use environment.

In one implementation, a basic rear first plate 92 (FIG. 7D) is asubstantially planar opaque surface having relatively few functionalcomponents. Functional components could include one or more internalcamera lenses, and various lights and/or sensors associated with thecamera function. This standard plate may be either removed by the buyeror a substitution made at the point of manufacture, to include a seconddifferent rear plate. The second plate contains an optical componentsupport including a lens mount (e.g., the inverted positive lock support220 shown in FIGS. 8A-8B, or support including any of the mount typesdescribed below), enabling the mounting of conventional externalphotography lenses or lens mount adapters to the back plate.

Due to the non-standardization of lens mounts among the various lensmanufacturers, rear lens mount plates may be manufactured having aunique lens mount configuration corresponding to various lens types. Abuyer can therefore identify a desired lens system, and either purchaseor construct a cellphone having a rear plate which contains a lens mountappropriate for the desired system. At the present time, rear lens mountplates are contemplated having any of a variety of lens mountconfigurations, such as those configured to adapt to any of thefollowing lens mounts: Pentax Q-mount; D-mount (8 mm movie cameras);CS-mount (surveillance cameras); Nikon 1-mount; C-mount (Bolex, Eclairand Bell & Howell); Fujifilm X-mount; Canon EF-M-mount; Sony E-mount;Sony FZ-mount; Micro Four Thirds System; Samsung NX-mount; RED ONEinterchangeable mount; Leica M-mount; M39 (Leica) Screwmount; OlympusPEN F; Contax G-mount; Contax RF-mount; Nikon S-mount; Olympus FourThirds System; Konica AR-mount; Canon FL-mount; Canon FD-mount; Start(Soviet SLR) Minolta SR-mount; Fujica X-mount; Canon EF mount; CanonEF-S-mount; Praktica B-mount; Signa SA-mount; Minolta/KonicaMinolta/Sony A-mount; Pentax K-mount; M42; Contax C/Y-mount; OlympusOM-mount Nikon F-mount; Leica R-Complementary mount; Sony B4-mount;Contax N-mount; Arri STD; Arri B; Arri PL; T-mount; Panavision PV-mount;OCT-19; Mamiya 645; Contax 645; Pentax 645; Hasselblad 2000 & 500;Pentax 6×7. Lenses having any of the foregoing mounts may be directlymountable to a complementary mount on a lens mount adapter which mountsto the rear plate, or directly to a unique rear plate configured foreach specific lens mount type.

An example of a support/lens mount 220 having an inverted positive locklens mounting system, and that can be included on a rear plate of any ofthe embodiments described herein, is described below with respect toFIGS. 8A-8B.

FIG. 7I shows a side view of an example of a multi-plate handheldelectronic device 300. The illustrated device 300 includes three plates,which comprise a front plate 302, an intermediate plate 304, and a rearplate 306, although 2, 4 or more plates can be provided depending on theembodiment, as described.

The plates can be fastened together with one or more screws or otherfasteners 308, such as to create compression between the plates 302,304, 306. Any number of fasteners can be used such as in accordance withany of the embodiments described herein. For instance, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 ormore fasteners can be used. As shown, the fasteners 308 extend from anexposed surface 310 of the front plate 302 through any intermediateplate 304 to an exposed surface 312 of the rear plate 306. The fasteners308 can be threadably or otherwise inserted into one or morepass-through holes 313 in the plates to fasten the plates together.

The illustrated front plate 302 can include a display screen 315provided on an exposed surface 310. The front plate 302 can include oneor more connectors 314 on the side opposite the exposed surface 310, andconfigured to mate with one or more corresponding connectors 316 carriedon a front side of the intermediate plate 304, facilitating electricalcommunication between the front plate 302 and some or all of thesubsequent plates 304, 306. The connectors 314, 316 can mate via afriction fit or other appropriate mechanism, and can allow forstraightforward pluggable electrical connection between plates. Thefront plate 302 may include all of the electronics necessary to drivethe display screen 315 in some embodiments. In other implementations,another plate, such as the intermediate plate 304 or the rear plate 306include some such electronics, and the connectors 314, 316 allow signalsfor driving the display screen 315 to be communicated to the front plate302 from electronics within a subsequent plate.

The illustrated intermediate plate 304 includes at least one connector318 on its rear side that is configured to mate with a correspondingconnector 320 provided on a un-exposed side of the rear plate 306. Theexposed surface 312 of the rear plate 306 can include an opticalcomponent 322, such as a lens. A second rear plate having a differentlens can optionally be included, allowing a user to change lenses byswapping out the rear plate 306 for the second rear plate. Or, asdescribed herein, the optical component 322 can be a lens mount. Thelens mount can have an interface of a first mount system type, allowingfor attachment of lenses having a corresponding interface of the firstmount system type. At least one additional rear plate (not shown) can beprovided for selective replacement of the rear plate 306, where theadditional rear plate(s) include an interface of a second mounting type,allowing for attachment of lenses having a corresponding interface ofthe second mount system type.

The device 300 can include a camera, which comprises the opticalcomponent 322. The rear plate 306 can include some or all of theelectronics of the camera, including an image sensor and/or memory, forexample. In such embodiments, a second rear plate including differentelectronics (e.g., a different resolution image sensor) can be swappedin to upgrade or otherwise replace the electronics of the first rearplate 306. In other embodiments, at least some of the camera electronicsare included in another plate, such as the intermediate plate 304 or thefront plate 302. In such embodiments, the connection between theconnectors 318, 320 of the intermediate plate 304 and the rear plate 306can allow electrical signals to be communicated between the electronicswithin the intermediate plate 304 and the rear plate 306, such as tooperate the optical element 322 and/or any other camera electronicswithin the rear plate 306. Similar to the connectors 314, 316 of thefront and intermediate plates 302, 304, the connectors 318, 320 can matevia a friction fit or other appropriate mechanism, and can allow forstraightforward pluggable electrical connection between the intermediateand rear plates 304, 306. In this manner, the combination of themechanical compression fasteners 308 and pluggable electrical connectors314, 316, 318, 320 allows for both robust constructions andstraightforward swapping of customized plates for aesthetic, upgrade, orother purposes. The male and female orientation of any of the connectors314, 316, 318, 320 can be reversed in other embodiments.

One type of support/lens mount 220 that may be incorporated with thecellphone, camera, or other electronic device of any of the embodimentsdescribed herein is illustrated in FIG. 8A. The support 220 forms afemale portion of an inverted positive lock mounting system, embodimentsof which are described in U.S. application Ser. No. 14/820,439, titled“Low-Profile Lens Mount”, filed on Aug. 6, 2015 and U.S. applicationSer. No. 14/821,631, titled “Low-Profile Lens Mount”, filed on Aug. 7,2015, the entire contents of both of which are incorporated by referenceherein. For instance, the support 220 may be provided on a back plate ofany of the handheld electronic devices herein. In FIG. 8A, a lens mountadapter 224 is shown. A camera side 236 of the adapter 224 includes amale portion of the inverted positive lock mount system, for connectingto the support 220, via aligned insertion and subsequent rotation of theadapter 224 into the aperture 222. On a lens side 234 of the adapter224, a lens mount interface is provided for connecting to a lens havinga different mount type, which can include any of the lens mount typesdescribed herein (e.g. Sony E-mount, Micro 4/3 [MFT], etc.). FIG. 8Bshows the support 220 in conjunction with a lens 225, which implements amale portion of the positive lock mount system. Although other types ofsupports 220 can be implemented on the handheld electronic deviceplates, the inverted positive lock mounting mechanism enables a lowstack height of a conventional bayonet type mounting system, yetprovides the high clamping strength of a PL (positive lock) mount. Suchmounts also enables a very shallow back focus, or flange focal distance.

Preferably, the camera includes a capability for capturing still imageswith various and/or adjustable resolutions and aspect ratios for examplebut without limitation, as high as 6144×3160 pixels or higher withaspect ratios such as 2:1, 2.4:1, 16:9, etc, and a capability forcapturing motion images at resolutions up to about “6 K” or higherincluding for example, but without limitation, 6 K (2:1, 2.4:1), 5 K(Full Frame, 2:1, 2.4:1 and Anamorphic 2:1), 4.5 K (2.4:1), 4 K (16:9,HD, 2:1 and Anamorphic 2:1), 3 K (16:9, 2:1 and Anamorphic 2:1), 2 K(16:9, 2:1 and Anamorphic 2:1), 1080p RGB (16:9), 720p RGB (16:9) andother resolutions and formats, depending on the size of the image sensorused in the device 10 and the capacity of the supporting electronics.Additionally, the device 10 can be configured to include a number ofcompression options, including compressed raw mosaic image sensor data,compressed fully rendered video data and uncompressed video data. Anonboard memory preferably comprises a capacity of at least about 64 GB,and, in one implementation, at least about 128 GB. The phone includes aslot or cavity for receiving at least one, and preferably two or moreSIM cards, to enable the phone to receive two or more phone numbers. Twocameras are provided, one facing outwardly from the front of the phoneand one facing outwardly from the rear of the phone.

With continued reference to FIGS. 7A and 7B, the device 10 can includeone or more lights which, optionally, can be used for personal lighting(e.g., flashlight) or photographic purposes. For example, as notedabove, the device 10 can include a camera lens 84. Optionally, thedevice 10 can include a lighting device 200 disposed on the front sideof the device 10, facing the same direction as the lens 84. The lightingdevice 200 can be any type of lighting device, and in some embodiments,is configured for high intensity “flash” output such as that used for“flash photography”. Additionally, in some embodiments, the lightingdevice 200 can also be configured for continuous operation, such as in aflashlight mode for providing lighting as desired by user. Similarly,the lighting device 200 can be configured for continuous operationduring use of the camera lens 84 for recording motion video. In someembodiments, the lighting device 200 can be in the form of one orplurality of LEDs. The design and operation of this type of lightingdevice, including those designs based on LEDs, is well known in the art.

Optionally, as illustrated in FIG. 7A, the lighting device 200 canextend around the periphery of the camera lens 84 in connection with afirst camera 151, described below with reference to FIG. 9. As such, thelighting device 200 can provide an effect similar to that provided bylighting devices known as “ring lights” or “ring flashes”. In someembodiments, the lighting device 200 can be constructed using two ormore light emitting devices, such as LEDs, and an optical diffuser suchas a transparent material with a frosted surface application. Further,the lighting device 200 can include light emitting devices configured tobe adjustable as to the color or temperature of light emitted therefrom.For example, the light emitting devices included within the lightingdevice 200 can be configured to emit different “temperatures” of whitelight typically used for photography. Additionally, the lighting device200 can be configured to emit a large range of different colors oflight, using “RGB” LEDs light emitting devices. Such LED devices as wellas the operation control of which are widely known and commerciallyavailable.

In some embodiments, the device 10 can include a lighting device 202. Asshown in the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 7A, the lighting device 202can include a circumferentially extending configuration. For example,the lighting device 202 can extend around the display 22. In a similarfashion or the same fashion as the lighting device 200, the lightingdevice 202 can be constructed with a plurality of light emittingdevices, such as LEDs, which can be white, adjustable within a range oftemperatures of white colors, or a broad range of colors such as “RGB”LED lighting devices. Additionally, the lighting device 202 can beconfigured for control is a “flash” mode for photography, in aflashlight mode, or other modes for continuous or substantiallycontinuous output of light for personal lighting applications such asrecording motion video as desired. Additionally, the device 10 caninclude programming for operating the lighting device 202 for furtherentertainment purposes, such as light changing schemes which may or maynot be synchronized with audio output from the device 10. Such controloptions and techniques are well known in the art.

As an alternative to or in combination with the lighting devices 200,202, the device 10 can also include a lighting device 204. As shown inFIG. 7A, the lighting device 204 can be disposed along the peripheraledge of the device 10. In the illustrated embodiment, the lightingdevice 204 follows along the shape of the outer periphery of the vice 10and that includes or defines part of the concavities 26. Additionally,similarly to the lighting device 202, the lighting device 204 caninclude a plurality of light emitting devices, such as LEDs, coveredwith a translucent cover for diffusing light emitted by the lightimaging devices. In other embodiments, as alternatives to or incombination with any of the lighting devices 200, 202, 204, the device10 can include light imaging devices placed atop one or more of thescrews 76 described above.

With reference to FIG. 7B, the backside of the device 10 can include acamera lens 85, for example, for use in conjunction with a second camera152, described below with reference to FIG. 9. Using a similar oridentical construction as the lighting device 200, the device 10 canalso include a light lighting device 206 disposed partially or entirelyaround a periphery of the lens 85. Further, as an alternative to or incombination with the lighting device 206, the device 10 can include alighting device 208 extending around a periphery of the backside of thedevice 10. The lighting device 208 can be constructed in a similar oridentical fashion to the lighting devices 200, 202, or two of four notedabove.

By providing a lighting device with a more diffused light emissioncharacteristics, such as that resulting from the ring-shaped lightingdevices 200, 206 or the more rectangular lighting devices 202, 204, 208or even the use of a plurality of lighting devices disposed at aplurality of points relative to a camera lens, such as the camera lens84, 85, different lighting aesthetics can be achieved. In somephotographic techniques, the use of more diffused lighting can provideenhanced and or more desirable results, for example, by generatingshadows with softer edges, and/or other effects.

With reference to FIG. 7E, in some embodiments, the device 10 caninclude concavities 27 which do not extend onto the front side of thedevice 10. For example, FIG. 7E illustrates an alternative embodiment inwhich the concavities 26 are in the form of concavities 27 defined inthe back surface of the device 10 as well as one or both of the sides18, 20. FIG. 7E illustrates a plurality of concavities 27 which aredefined partly on the backside of the device 10 and on the left side 18.However, an edge 29 between the left side 18 in the front side of thedevice 10 extends along a generally straight line. That is because, inthe illustrated embodiment, the concavities 27 do not extend beyond theedge 29 or onto the front side of the device 10. Thus, the embodiment ofthe device 10 illustrated in FIG. 7E, would appear to be rectangular ina top plan view, in other words, the concavities 27 would generally notbe visible in a top plan view of the front side (the view correspondingto FIG. 7A).

In some embodiments, the concavities 27 can have a maximum depth 31 ofapproximately 75% of the thickness of the device 10, however, otherdepths can also be used. Additionally, the concavities 27 can have alength 33 smaller than the magnitude of the depth 31, approximately thesame magnitude as the depth 31, or up to 2 to 3 times the magnitude ofthe depth 31. However, other configurations of the concavities 27 canalso be used. In the context of the embodiment of FIG. 7E, the raisedareas adjacent to the concavities 27 can be considered as formingprojections 35 on the left side 18, defining the concavities 27therebetween.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating various additional electronicaspects and features of a device according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure. The housing of the embodiments described above maybe utilized with electronic devices having any of a variety of features,and the following is illustrative only and not limiting on the presentinventions. Additional details of potential electronic aspects can befound, for example, in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2014/0055394,published Feb. 27, 2014, the contents of which are incorporated byreference in their entirety herein.

Referring to FIG. 9, an electronic device 100 such as a cellphone inaccordance with an embodiment may be connected to an external device byusing an external connection device, such as a sub-communication module130, a connector 165, and an earphone connecting jack 167. The “externaldevice” may include a variety of devices, such as earphones, externalspeakers, Universal Serial Bus (USB) memories, chargers, cradles/docks,Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) antennas, electronic paymentrelated devices, health care devices (e.g., blood sugar testers), gameconsoles, vehicle navigations, and the like, which are removable fromthe electronic device and connected thereto via a cable. The “externaldevice” may also include a short range communication device that may bewirelessly connected to the electronic device 100 via short rangecommunication, such as BLUETOOTH, a short range wireless communicationstechnology at the 2.4 GHz band, commercially available from theBLUETOOTH SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP, INC., a Near Field Communication(NFC), and the like, and a communication device using WI-FI DIRECT, awireless technology for data exchange over a computer network,commercially available from the WI-FI ALLIANCE, a wireless Access Point(AP), and the like. Furthermore, the external device may include anyother device, such as a cell phone, a smartphone, a tablet PC, a desktopPC, a server, and the like.

Referring to FIG. 9, the electronic device 100 includes a display unit190 and a display controller 195. The electronic device 100 alsoincludes a controller 110, a mobile communication module 120, thesub-communication module 130, a multimedia module 140, a camera module150, a Global Positioning System (GPS) module 155, an input/outputmodule 160, a sensor module 170, a storage 175, and a power supply 180.The sub-communication module 130 includes at least one of Wireless LocalArea Network (WLAN) 131 and a short-range communication module 132, andthe multimedia module 140 includes at least one of a broadcastcommunication module 141, an audio play module 142, and a video playmodule 143. The camera module 150 includes at least one of a firstcamera 151, a second camera 152, a third camera 153 and the input/outputmodule 160 includes at least one of buttons 161, a microphone 162, aspeaker 163, a vibration motor 164, the connector 165, and a keypad 166.In some embodiments, the second and third cameras 152, 153 can both bedisposed on the backside of the device 10, so to accommodate varioustypes of photographic tools, including 3-D still photography or motionvideo, as well as other types of effects. Additionally, the electronicdevice 100 can include one or more lights, for example, the lights 200,202, 204 described above are schematically illustrated as a “firstlight”. Additionally, the lighting devices 206, 208 are schematicallyillustrated as a “second light”.

The controller 110 may include a Central Processing Unit (CPU) 111, aRead Only Memory (ROM) 112 for storing a control program, such as anOperating System (OS), to control the electronic device 100, and aRandom Access Memory (RAM) 113 for storing signals or data input from anexternal source or for being used as a memory space for working resultsin the electronic device 100. The CPU 111 may include a single core,dual cores, triple cores, or quad cores. The CPU 111, ROM 112, and RAM113 may be connected to each other via an internal bus.

The controller 110 may control the mobile communication module 120, thesub-communication module 130, the multimedia module 140, the cameramodule 150, the GPS module 155, the input/output module 160, the sensormodule 170, the storage 175, the power supply 180, the display unit 190,and the display controller 195.

The mobile communication module 120 connects the electronic device 100to an external device through mobile communication using at least aone-to-one antenna or a one-to-many antenna under the control of thecontroller 110. The mobile communication module 120 transmits/receiveswireless signals for voice calls, video conference calls, Short MessageService (SMS) messages, or Multimedia Message Service (MMS) messagesto/from a cell phone, a smartphone, a tablet PC, or another device, withthe phones having phone numbers entered into the electronic device 100.

The sub-communication module 130 may include at least one of the WLANmodule 131 and the short-range communication module 132. For example,the sub-communication module 130 may include either the WLAN module 131or the short range communication module 132, or both.

The WLAN module 131 may be connected to the Internet in a place wherethere is a wireless Access Point (AP), under the control of thecontroller 110. The WLAN module 131 supports the WLAN Institute ofElectrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE)802.11x standard. Theshort-range communication module 132 may conduct short-rangecommunication between the electronic device 100 and an image renderingdevice under the control of the controller 110. The short-rangecommunication may include communications compatible with BLUETOOTH, ashort range wireless communications technology at the 2.4 GHz band,commercially available from the BLUETOOTH SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP, INC.,Infrared Data Association (IrDA), WI-FI DIRECT, a wireless technologyfor data exchange over a computer network, commercially available fromthe WI-FI ALLIANCE, NFC, and the like.

The electronic device 100 may include at least one of the mobilecommunication module 120, the WLAN module 131, and the short-rangecommunication module 132 based on the performance requirements of theelectronic device 100. For example, the electronic device 100 mayinclude a combination of the mobile communication module 120, the WLANmodule 131, and the short-range communication module 132 based on theperformance requirements of the electronic device 100.

The multimedia module 140 may include the broadcast communication module141, the audio play module 142, or the video play module 143. Thebroadcast communication module 141 may receive broadcast signals (e.g.,television broadcast signals, radio broadcast signals, or data broadcastsignals) and additional broadcast information (e.g., an Electric ProgramGuide (EPG) or an Electric Service Guide (ESG)) transmitted from abroadcasting station through a broadcast communication antenna under thecontrol of the controller 110. The audio play module 142 may playdigital audio files (e.g., files having extensions, such as mp3, wma,ogg, or way) stored or received under the control of the controller 110.The video play module 143 may play digital video files (e.g., fileshaving extensions, such as mpeg, mpg, mp4, avi, move, or mkv) stored orreceived under the control of the controller 110. The video play module143 may also play digital audio files.

The multimedia module 140 may include the audio play module 142 and thevideo play module 143 except for the broadcast communication module 141.The audio play module 142 or video play module 143 of the multimediamodule 140 may be included in the controller 110.

The camera module 150 may include at least one of the first camera 151and the second camera 152 for capturing still images or video imagesunder the control of the controller 110. Furthermore, the first orsecond camera 151 or 152, respectively, may include an auxiliary lightsource (e.g., a flash) for providing an amount of light for capturing animage. The first camera 151 may be placed on the front of the electronicdevice 100 and the second camera 152 may be placed on the back ofelectronic device 100. Alternatively, the first and second cameras 151and 152, respectively, are arranged adjacent to each other (e.g., thedistance between the first and second cameras 151 and 152, respectively,may be in the range of 1 cm. to 8 cm.), capturing 3 Dimensional (3D)still images or 3D video images.

The GPS module 155 receives radio signals from a plurality of GPSsatellites in orbit around the Earth, and may calculate the position ofthe electronic device 100 by using time of arrival from the GPSsatellites to the electronic device 100.

The input/output module 160 may include at least one of the plurality ofbuttons 161, the microphone 162, the speaker 163, the vibrating motor164, the connector 165, and the keypad 166.

The at least one of the buttons 161 may be arranged on the front, sideor back of the housing of the electronic device 100, and may include atleast one of a power/lock button, a volume button, a menu button, a homebutton, a back button, and a search button.

The microphone 162 generates electric signals by receiving voice orsound under the control of the controller 110.

The speaker 163 may output sounds externally corresponding to varioussignals (e.g., radio signals, broadcast signals, digital audio files,digital video files or photography signals) from the mobilecommunication module 120, sub-communication module 130, multimediamodule 140, or camera module 150 under the control of the controller110. The speaker 163 may output sounds (e.g., button-press sounds orringback tones) that correspond to functions performed by the electronicdevice 100. There may be one or multiple speakers 163 arranged in atleast one position on or in the housing of the electronic device 100.

The vibrating motor 164 may convert an electric signal to a mechanicalvibration under the control of the controller 110. For example, theelectronic device 100 in a vibrating mode operates the vibrating motor164 when receiving a voice call from another device. There may be atleast one vibration motor 164 inside the housing of the electronicdevice 100. The vibration motor 164 may operate in response to a touchactivity or continuous touches of a user over the display unit 190.

The connector 165 may be used as an interface for connecting theelectronic device 100 to the external device or a power source. Underthe control of the controller 110, the electronic device 100 maytransmit data stored in the storage 175 of the electronic device 100 tothe external device via a cable connected to the connector 165, orreceive data from the external device. Furthermore, the electronicdevice 100 may be powered by the power source via a cable connected tothe connector 165 or may charge the battery using the power source.

The keypad 166 may receive key inputs from the user to control theelectronic device 100. The keypad 166 includes a mechanical keypadformed in the electronic device 100, or a virtual keypad displayed onthe display unit 190. The mechanical keypad formed in the electronicdevice 100 may optionally be omitted from the implementation of theelectronic device 100, depending on the performance requirements orstructure of the electronic device 100.

An earphone may be inserted into the earphone connecting jack 167 andthus, may be connected to the electronic device 100.

A stylus pen 168 may be inserted and removably retained in theelectronic device 100, and may be drawn out and detached from theelectronic device 100.

A pen-removable recognition switch 169 that operates in response toattachment and detachment of the stylus pen 168 is equipped in an areainside the electronic device 100 where the stylus pen 168 is removablyretained, and sends a signal that corresponds to the attachment or thedetachment of the stylus pen 168 to the controller 100. Thepen-removable recognition switch 169 may have a direct or indirectcontact with the stylus pen 168 when the stylus pen 168 is inserted intothe area. The pen-removable recognition switch 169 generates the signalthat corresponds to the attachment or detachment of the stylus pen 168based on the direct or indirect contact and provides the signal to thecontroller 110.

The sensor module 170 includes at least one sensor for detecting astatus of the electronic device 100. For example, the sensor module 170may include a proximity sensor for detecting proximity of a user to theelectronic device 100, an illumination sensor for detecting an amount ofambient light of the electronic device 100, a motion sensor fordetecting the motion of the electronic device 100 (e.g., rotation of theelectronic device 100, acceleration or vibration applied to theelectronic device 100), a geomagnetic sensor for detecting a point ofthe compass using the geomagnetic field, a gravity sensor for detectinga direction of gravity, and an altimeter for detecting an altitude bymeasuring atmospheric pressure. At least one sensor may detect thestatus and generate a corresponding signal to transmit to the controller110. The sensor of the sensor module 170 may be added or removeddepending on the performance requirements of the electronic device 100of the electronic device 100.

The storage 175 may store signals or data input/output according tooperations of the mobile communication module 120, the sub-communicationmodule 130, the multimedia module 140, the camera module 150, the GPSmodule, the input/output module 160, the sensor module 170, the displayunit 190 under the control of the controller 110. The storage 175 maystore the control programs and applications for controlling theelectronic device 100 or the controller 110.

The term “storage” refers to the storage 175, and also to the ROM 112,RAM 113 in the controller 110, or a memory card (e.g., a Secure Digital(SD) card, a memory stick, and the like) installed in the electronicdevice 100. The storage may also include a non-volatile memory, avolatile memory, a Hard Disc Drive (HDD), a Solid State Drive (SSD), orthe like.

The power supply 180 may supply power to at least one battery placedinside the housing of the electronic device 100 under the control of thecontroller 110. The at least one battery powers the electronic device100. The power supply 180 may supply the electronic device 100 with thepower input from the external power source via a cable connected to theconnector 165. The power supply 180 may also supply the electronicdevice 100 with wireless power from an external power source using awireless charging technology.

The display controller 195 receives information (e.g., information to begenerated for making calls, data transmission, broadcast, orphotography) that is processed by the controller 110, converts theinformation to data to be displayed on the display unit 190, andprovides the data to the display unit 190. The display unit 190 displaysthe data received from the display controller 195. For example, in acall mode, the display unit 190 may display a User Interface (UI) or aGraphic User Interface (GUI) with respect to a call. The display unit190 may include at least one of liquid crystal displays, thin filmtransistor-liquid crystal displays, organic light-emitting diodes,flexible displays, 3D displays, electrophoretic displays, and the like.

The display unit 190 may be used as an output device and also as aninput device, and for the latter case, may have a touchscreen panel tooperate as a touch screen. The display unit 190 may send to the displaycontroller 195 an analog signal that corresponds to at least one touchto the UI or GUI. The display unit 190 may detect the at least one touchby a user's physical contact (e.g., by fingers including a thumb) or bya touchable input device (e.g., the stylus pen). The display unit 190may also receive a dragging movement of a touch among at least one touchand transmit an analog signal that corresponds to the dragging movementto the display controller 195. The display unit 190 may be implementedto detect at least one touch in, for example, a resistive method, acapacitive method, an infrared method, an acoustic wave method, or thelike.

The term ‘touches’ are not limited to physical touches by a physicalcontact of the user or contacts with the touchable input device, but mayalso include touchless proximity (e.g., maintaining a detectabledistance less than 1 mm. between the display unit 190 and the user'sbody or touchable input device). The detectable distance from thedisplay unit 190 may vary depending on the performance requirements ofthe electronic device 100 or structure of the electronic device 100, andmore particularly, the display unit 190 may output different values(e.g., current values) for touch detection and hovering detection todistinguishably detect that a touch event occurred by a contact with theuser's body or the touchable input device and a contactless input (e.g.,a hovering event). Furthermore, the display unit 190 may outputdifferent values (e.g., current values) for hovering detection overdistance from where the hovering event occurs.

The display controller 195 converts the analog signal received from thedisplay unit 190 to a digital signal (e.g., in XY coordinates on thetouch panel or display screen) and transmits the digital signal to thecontroller 110. The controller 110 may control the display unit 190 byusing the digital signal received from the display controller 195. Forexample, in response to the touch event or the hovering event, thecontroller 110 may enable a shortcut icon displayed on the display unit190 to be selected or to be executed. The display controller 195 mayalso be incorporated in the controller 110.

Further, the display controller 195 may determine the distance betweenwhere the hovering event occurs and the display unit 190 by detecting avalue (e.g., a current value) output through the display unit 190,convert the determined distance to a digital signal (e.g., with a Zcoordinate), and provide the digital signal to the controller 110.

Furthermore, depending on implementations, the electronic device 100 mayhave two or more display units.

The display unit 190 may include at least two touchscreen panels fordetecting touches or proximity thereto by the user's body or thetouchable input device to receive both inputs by the user's body or thetouchable input device simultaneously. The at least two touchscreenpanels provide different output values to the display controller 195,and the display controller 195 may differentiate inputs by the user'sbody and inputs by the touchable input device through the touchscreen bydifferently recognizing the values input from the at least twotouchscreen panels.

Any of the handheld electronic devices described herein, including thosedescribed with respect to FIGS. 1-7E, can incorporate some or all of thecomponents and corresponding functionality shown and described withrespect to FIG. 8. Moreover, while certain electronic devices shown anddescribed herein are cellphones, other handheld electronic deviceembodiments are not cellphones, and do not include telephoniccapability. For instance, some embodiments have the same or similarexterior as the devices shown and described with respect to any of FIGS.1-7E, but do not include telephonic capability, such as in the case of atablet computing device or digital camera. Such embodiments maynonetheless include any combination of the non-telephone components andfunctionality described with respect to FIG. 8, such as one or more ofthe following or portions thereof: controller 110, touch screen 190 andtouch screen controller 195, camera module 150, multi-media module 140,sub-communication module 130, first light 200, 202, 204, second light206, 208, GPS module 155, I/O module 160, and memory 176.

As used herein, a phrase referring to “at least one of” a list of itemsrefers to any combination of those items, including single members. Asan example, “at least one of: a, b, or c” is intended to cover: a, b, c,a-b, a-c, b-c, and a-b-c.

The various illustrative logics, logical blocks, modules, circuits andalgorithm steps described in connection with the implementationsdisclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computersoftware, or combinations of both. The interchangeability of hardwareand software has been described generally, in terms of functionality,and illustrated in the various illustrative components, blocks, modules,circuits and steps described above. Whether such functionality isimplemented in hardware or software depends upon the particularapplication and design constraints imposed on the overall system.

The hardware and data processing apparatus used to implement the variousillustrative logics, logical blocks, modules and circuits described inconnection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented orperformed with a single- or multi-chip processor, a digital signalprocessor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), afield programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device,discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or anycombination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein.A processor may be a microprocessor, or, any processor, controller,microcontroller, or state machine. A processor also may be implementedas a combination of electronic devices, such as a combination of a DSPand a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or moremicroprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suchconfiguration. In some implementations, particular steps and methods maybe performed by circuitry that is specific to a given function.

In one or more aspects, the functions described may be implemented inhardware, digital electronic circuitry, computer software, firmware,including the structures disclosed in this specification and theirstructural equivalents thereof, or in any combination thereof.Implementations of the subject matter described in this specificationalso can be implemented as one or more computer programs, e.g., one ormore modules of computer program instructions, encoded on a computerstorage media for execution by, or to control the operation of, dataprocessing apparatus.

If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on ortransmitted over as one or more instructions or code on acomputer-readable medium. The steps of a method or algorithm disclosedherein may be implemented in a processor-executable software modulewhich may reside on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable mediaincludes both computer storage media and communication media includingany medium that can be enabled to transfer a computer program from oneplace to another. Storage media may be any available media that may beaccessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, suchcomputer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or otheroptical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storagedevices, or any other medium that may be used to store desired programcode in the form of instructions or data structures and that may beaccessed by a computer. Combinations of the above also may be includedwithin the scope of computer-readable media. Additionally, theoperations of a method or algorithm may reside as one or any combinationor set of codes and instructions on a machine readable medium andcomputer-readable medium, which may be incorporated into a computerprogram product.

Various modifications to the implementations described in thisdisclosure may be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and thegeneric principles defined herein may be applied to otherimplementations without departing from the spirit or scope of thisdisclosure. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to theimplementations shown herein, but are to be accorded the widest scopeconsistent with this disclosure, the principles and the novel featuresdisclosed herein.

Certain features that are described in this specification in the contextof separate implementations also can be implemented in combination in asingle implementation. Conversely, various features that are describedin the context of a single implementation also can be implemented inmultiple implementations separately or in any suitable subcombination.Moreover, although features may be described above as acting in certaincombinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more featuresfrom a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from thecombination, and the claimed combination may be directed to asubcombination or variation of a subcombination.

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout thedescription and the claims, the words “comprise,” “comprising,” and thelike are to be construed in an inclusive sense, as opposed to anexclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of“including, but not limited to.” The word “coupled”, as generally usedherein, refers to two or more elements that may be either directlyconnected, or connected by way of one or more intermediate elements.Likewise, the word “connected”, as generally used herein, refers to twoor more elements that may be either directly connected, or connected byway of one or more intermediate elements. Additionally, the words“herein,” “above,” “below,” and words of similar import, when used inthis application, shall refer to this application as a whole and not toany particular portions of this application. Where the context permits,words in the above Detailed Description using the singular or pluralnumber may also include the plural or singular number respectively. Theword “or” in reference to a list of two or more items, that word coversall of the following interpretations of the word: any of the items inthe list, all of the items in the list, and any combination of the itemsin the list.

Moreover, conditional language used herein, such as, among others,“can,” “could,” “might,” “can,” “e.g.,” “for example,” “such as” and thelike, unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understoodwithin the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certainembodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certainfeatures, elements and/or states. Thus, such conditional language is notgenerally intended to imply that features, elements and/or states are inany way required for one or more embodiments or that one or moreembodiments necessarily include logic for deciding, with or withoutauthor input or prompting, whether these features, elements and/orstates are included or are to be performed in any particular embodiment.

The above detailed description of embodiments is not intended to beexhaustive or to be limiting to the precise form disclosed above. Whilespecific embodiments and examples are described above for illustrativepurposes, various equivalent modifications are possible within the scopeof the inventions described herein, as those skilled in the relevant artwill recognize. For example, while processes or blocks are presented ina given order, alternative embodiments may perform routines havingsteps, or employ systems having blocks, in a different order, and someprocesses or blocks may be deleted, moved, added, subdivided, combined,and/or modified. Each of these processes or blocks may be implemented ina variety of different ways. Also, while processes or blocks are attimes shown as being performed in series, these processes or blocks mayinstead be performed in parallel, or may be performed at differenttimes.

The teachings provided herein can be applied to other systems, not onlythe systems described above. The elements and acts of the variousembodiments described above can be combined to provide furtherembodiments.

While certain embodiments of the inventions have been described, theseembodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are notintended to limit the scope of the disclosure. Indeed, the novel methodsand systems described herein may be embodied in a variety of otherforms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in theform of the methods and systems described herein may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit of the disclosure. The accompanying claims andtheir equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications aswould fall within the scope and spirit of the disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A detachable component cellphone, comprising: afront plate, having a viewing display; a rear plate; at least fourscrews extending from an exposed surface of the front plate to anexposed surface of the rear plate, to compress the front plate and rearplate together, the at least four screws being exposed on the exposedsurface of the front plate to a user and being exposed on the exposedsurface of the rear plate to the user, wherein the at least four screwsare located between an outer edge of a body of the detachable componentcellphone and an edge of the viewing display; and electronics in betweenthe front and rear plates.
 2. A detachable component cellphone as inclaim 1, wherein the electronics include an image sensor, the rear platehas an aperture, and wherein light entering the aperture from outsidethe detachable component cellphone is incident on the image sensor.
 3. Adetachable component cellphone as in claim 1, further comprising anintermediate frame in between the front and rear plates, theintermediate frame having an exposed surface around the periphery of thedetachable component cellphone to provide the appearance of a threelayer construct.
 4. A detachable component cellphone as in claim 3wherein the exposed surface around the periphery is provided with acontour.
 5. A detachable component handheld electronic device,comprising: a front plate, having a viewing display; a rear plate; atleast four screws extending from an exposed surface of either the frontplate or the rear plate and engaging the other of the front plate andrear plate in locations adjacent to and outward from the viewingdisplay, to compress the front plate and rear plate together, the atleast four screws being exposed on the exposed surface, wherein the atleast four screws are located between an outer edge of a body of thedetachable component handheld electronic device and an edge of theviewing display; and electronics in between the front and rear plates.6. A detachable component handheld electronic device as in claim 5,wherein the detachable component handheld electronic device is a phone.7. A detachable component handheld electronic device as in claim 5,further comprising an intermediate frame in between the front and rearplates, the intermediate frame having an exposed surface around theperiphery of the detachable component handheld electronic device toprovide the appearance of a three layer construct.
 8. A detachablecomponent handheld electronic device as in claim 7, wherein the exposedsurface around the periphery is provided with a contour.
 9. A detachablecomponent handheld electronic device as in claim 5, comprising at leasta first left projection and a first right projection extending fromsides of the detachable component handheld electronic device, within thetop one third of the length of the detachable component handheldelectronic device.
 10. A detachable component handheld electronic deviceas in claim 9, comprising at least a second left projection and a secondright projection extending from the sides of the detachable componenthandheld electronic device, within the top one third of the length ofthe detachable component handheld electronic device, so that the firstand second left projections form a first left concavity there betweenand the first and second right projections form a first right concavitythere between.
 11. A detachable component handheld electronic device asin claim 10, wherein the first right concavity and first left concavityeach comprise a curved, concave surface.
 12. A method of manufacturing adetachable component handheld electronic device, of the type having atleast a front plate having a viewing display and a rear plate, forenclosing an electronics assembly, comprising the steps of: selecting anelectronics assembly; selecting a front plate; selecting a rear plate;enclosing the electronics assembly between the front plate and rearplate; advancing at least three fasteners from an outside facing surfaceof one of the front and rear plates and at least into the other of thefront and rear plates at locations disposed adjacent to and outward fromlateral sides of a viewing display, wherein the at least three fastenersare located between an outer edge of a body of the detachable componenthandheld electronic device and an edge of the viewing display; andtightening the at least three fasteners to compress the front plate andrear plates towards each other, the at least three fasteners beingexposed on the outside facing surface.
 13. A method of manufacturing adetachable component handheld electronic device as in claim 12 whereinthe detachable component handheld electronic device is a cellphone, themethod further comprising positioning an intermediate frame in betweenthe front and rear plates prior to the tightening step.
 14. A method ofmanufacturing a detachable component handheld electronic device as inclaim 12 wherein an outer peripheral edge of each of the front plate andrear plate has a matching nonlinear contoured surface.
 15. A method ofmanufacturing a detachable component handheld electronic device as inclaim 14, further comprising positioning an intermediate frame inbetween the front and rear plates prior to the tightening step.
 16. Amethod of manufacturing a detachable component handheld electronicdevice as in claim 15, wherein the intermediate frame includes an outerperipheral edge having a nonlinear contoured surface.
 17. A method ofmanufacturing a detachable component handheld electronic device as inclaim 16, wherein the nonlinear contoured surface of the intermediateframe matches the nonlinear contoured surfaces of the front plate andthe rear plate.
 18. A method of manufacturing a detachable componenthandheld electronic device as in claim 12 wherein the rear plate isselected from an array of interchangeable rear plates each associatedwith a different battery capacity.
 19. A method of manufacturing adetachable component handheld electronic device as in claim 18 whereinat least one of the rear plates in the array has an attached battery.20. A method of manufacturing a detachable component handheld electronicdevice as in claim 18 wherein at least one of the rear plates in thearray is configured to enclose a battery.
 21. A method of manufacturinga detachable component handheld electronic device as in claim 12 whereinthe rear plate is selected from an array of interchangeable rear plateseach associated with a different memory capacity.
 22. A method ofmanufacturing a detachable component handheld electronic device as inclaim 21 wherein at least one of the rear plates in the array has anattached memory device.
 23. A method of manufacturing a detachablecomponent handheld electronic device as in claim 21 wherein at least oneof the rear plates in the array is configured to enclose a memorydevice.
 24. A method of manufacturing a detachable component handheldelectronic device as in claim 12 wherein the rear plate is selected froman array of interchangeable rear plates at least one of which includes alens mount for attaching an external lens.
 25. A detachable componentcellphone as in claim 1, wherein the rear plate includes afemale-oriented support of an inverted positive lock lens mountinterface.
 26. A detachable component cellphone as in claim 1, whereinthe at least four screws are disposed adjacent to and outwardly from theviewing display.
 27. A detachable component cellphone as in claim 1,wherein the viewing display includes first and second longitudinal endsand first and second lateral sides, a longitudinal direction of theviewing display defined between the first and second longitudinal endsand a lateral width of the viewing display defined between the first andsecond lateral sides, the at least four screws being disposed adjacentto and outwardly from the first and second lateral sides of the viewingdisplay.
 28. A detachable component handheld electronic device as inclaim 5, wherein the viewing display includes first and secondlongitudinal ends and first and second lateral sides, a longitudinaldirection of the viewing display defined between the first and secondlongitudinal ends and a lateral width of the viewing display definedbetween the first and second lateral sides, the at least four screwsbeing disposed adjacent to and outwardly from the first and secondlateral sides of the viewing display.
 29. A detachable componenthandheld electronic device as in claim 5, wherein the front plate, theviewing display, and the rear plate define an outermost surface of frontand rear sides of the detachable component handheld electronic device.30. A method of manufacturing a detachable component handheld electronicdevice as in claim 12, wherein the viewing display includes first andsecond longitudinal ends and first and second lateral sides, alongitudinal direction of the viewing display defined between the firstand second longitudinal ends and a lateral width of the viewing displaydefined between the first and second lateral sides, and wherein the stepof advancing comprises advancing the at least three fasteners throughthe one of the front and rear plates at locations disposed adjacent toand outwardly from the first and second lateral sides of the viewingdisplay.
 31. A method of manufacturing a detachable component handheldelectronic device as in claim 12, wherein the step of enclosingcomprises connecting the front plate to the rear plate such that thefront plate, the viewing display, and the rear plate define an outermostsurface of front and rear sides of the detachable component handheldelectronic device.